G Suite vs. Office 365: Which is the Better Productivity Suite for Your Business?

IT preferences can feel like religion. Mac vs PC. Linux vs Windows, iOS vs Android. The same holds true with cloud services. The historical presence of MS Office in our daily work lives makes moving to G Suite feel more like a radical shift than moving to Microsoft Office 365. And while there is something […]

3 More Reasons You Are an Easy Cybercrime Target

Last week, we gave you three reasons why you, as a small or midsize business, are a viable and desirable target for cyber criminals. If those reasons don’t give you enough reason to act, here are three (3) more reasons SMBs, and you, a target for cyber criminals… SMB data is increasingly networked All of […]

3 Reasons You Are an Easy Cybercrime Target

As we’ve mentioned before, more small and midsize businesses (SMBs) are falling victim to cybercrime. You might believe that hackers won’t bother targeting your business due to its small size. However, it is crucial to recognize that cybercrime aimed at smaller companies is undeniably escalating, and you could be the next cybercrime target if you […]

4 Lessons from the Q4 Data Breach Review

Last week, our strategic partner Privacy Ref held their quarterly review of recent data breaches.  In his presentation, Ben Siegel, CIPM, identified 4 lessons learned from recent data breaches, including: Google Android; Hillary Tentler, CPA; Folsom State Prison; and the Internal Revenue Service. #1: Unauthorized Mobile Apps Create Risk Issue: Users can download apps from sites […]

Yet Another Yahoo! Breach

For the second time this year, Yahoo! acknowledges a major security breach.  This time, the breach occurred in 2013, resulting in the data loss of roughly 1 billion, (Yes, BILLION) accounts.  More than usernames and passwords this breach included security questions and answers. But, here are the scary facts: Yahoo! was unaware of the breach until […]

3 Reasons to Consider Replacing Active Directory

Active Directory was designed for on-premise local and enterprise networks.  As the use of cloud continues to move forward, Active Directory has not adapted as quickly as needed to provided robust, unified, identity management.  Here are three (3) reasons to consider replacing (or augmenting) Active Directory. 1) Active Directory is not “Cloud Ready” According to […]

Fast Fact Friday: Cloud Adoption Trends Up

As reported by CloudTech, a recent survey of more than 500 IT professionals in companies with 50 to 2000 employees … 20% report extensive use of cloud 52% report significant use of cloud 24% report modest use of cloud And, 56% of respondents indicated that cloud use will increase over time.  

Heads Up: Google Drive Desktop Ending Support for Win XP, Vista, Server 2003

In case you missed this …   Google is ending support for the Google Drive desktop app on January 1, 2017 for MS Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2003.  As Google will no longer test or support the Google Drive app on these platforms, you are unprotected if the app fails to work. […]

The Best Unknown Add-on for Office 365

Microsoft Office 365, from the entry level Exchange Online plans through the Business and Enterprise plans, includes a robust infrastructure for spam/virus protection. As we have blogged about on numerous occasions, cyber attacks continue to get more sophisticated and are using social engineering to trick and trap more people than ever. Advanced Threat Protection Advanced […]

Fast Fact Friday: Messaging & Collaboration Apps Win!

According to a recent study of 1,500 HR, sales, and marketing executives commissioned by Adobe, Inc. magazine reports that: More than half of the professionals surveyed (57 %) said mobile apps for messaging and collaboration are critical to their organizations’ success, and a similar number of respondents (59%) said such apps will continue to be […]

G Suite Business Upgrade Promo

Every once in awhile, we have a unique opportunity to offer substantial savings on cloud services.  To celebrate the rebranding of Google Apps as G Suite, we are authorized to offer small and midsize businesses significant discounts if they upgrade from G Suite Basic (Google Apps for Work) to G Suite Premium (Google Apps Unlimited). […]

Myth Busting Monday: Office 365 Updates Will Break our Business Applications

Your business depends on your employees being able to use business-critical applications.  You want and need your applications to be available and reliable, and the integration with Office needs to work. Office 365 is Designed to Work with Your Business Applications Microsoft is committed to Office 365 compatibility with the tools you use every day. […]

Fast Fact Friday: Who is the Real IT Buyer?

According to ISV Solutions’ 2015 Line of Business Survey, Line of Business Decision makers now control 61% of all technology purchases, and influence 81% of all purchases. Business objectives and priorities should drive technology initiatives and decisions. Small and midsize enterprises need partners that focus on business solutions enabled by technology.

Myth Busting Monday: Email is not Simpler in the Cloud

It is true: the technology behind Exchange Online and the Office 365 Mail, Calendar, and Contact services is a close sibling to the MS Exchange Server sitting in your computer room. So if the technology is the same, how can putting email in the cloud improve your IT? Email in the Cloud Simplifies Your IT […]

Fast Fact Friday: Trusting Cloud Security

According to a recent survey of 950 IT executives and staff members by BetterCloud found that: IT Execs are 29% less likely than their staff to say their team lacks full control over their SaaS applications IT Staff are 56% more than their bosses likely to feel they lack full visibility into SaaS applications IT […]

Myth Busting Monday: Skype and Skype for Business are the Same

Skype and Skype for Business carry similar names and are sometimes confused as one and the same thing.  Both let you communicate for free between computers and hold online meetings. But that is where the similarities end. Skype and Skype for Business are Very Different Services Skype is a free consumer service designed for communicating […]

Shield Your Data: Learn How to Prevent Ransomware Attacks with These 3 Effective Methods

Looking at the frequency and scope of ransomware attacks, and the number of small and midsize businesses falling victim, we remain surprised at how many SMBs are not yet taking steps to prevent the problem. If you don’t work to prevent ransomware attacks it can result in devastating financial and reputational consequences, making prevention a […]